


because what remains of me exists in you

by floralgeese



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Flustered Gays, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-War, Second Kiss, Truth or Dare, Warning: Alcohol Use, bfs shenanigans, bfs's favorite pastime is embarrassing each other, post war parties, they're all dumb and in love, very brief implied child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25254529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralgeese/pseuds/floralgeese
Summary: “Just one? Hmmm…” Catra wracked her brain, and was immediately greeted with memories of Adora making a complete idiot of herself, from the moment they met, to their last day in the Horde together, to their more recent days of rediscovering one another.“Aren’t truths supposed to expose the person who’s asked, not their /girlfriend/?” Adora pointed out, voice muffled by her face still being pressed into Catra’s shoulder.-Best Friend Squad has a mini party right after season five that features truth or dare, embarrassing each other, sleepy s/o's, and pure fluff devoid of any actual plot (with just a little added hurt/comfort).
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 229





	because what remains of me exists in you

**Author's Note:**

> whew! hi everyone! i've been getting way more into writing again recently, after not having written for my own enjoyment in years, and i'm really having fun with it! i obviously still have a lot to learn though, so i look forward to trying new techniques and styles in the near future. i also hope to have more works out at some point, hopefully sooner than later, though i am a pretty slow writer unfortunately lmao. also, i added this in the tags, but i figured i'd say again just in case: warning for alcohol use in this fic! it's nothing major at all, i just thought i'd be safe and make sure everyone is aware!
> 
> anyway, this is my first published work so i hope you all enjoy!

“Okay, Catra, truth or dare?” 

The four of them–Bow, Glimmer, Adora, and Catra–sat in a loose circle in Glimmer’s room, wine glasses and bottles scattered around them. Catra had positioned herself between Adora’s legs, leaning against her torso, with Adora’s arms wrapped loosely around her waist, gently pulling Catra closer to her own body. Across from them sat Glimmer, Bow’s arm rested along her shoulders, a smirk on her face as she took a sip from her glass.

“Hmm,” Catra hummed for a moment, tapping her chin. “Truth.”

Glimmer raised an eyebrow at her. “Really?” she set her glass on the floor beside her. “I took you as more of a dare person.”

“Yes, well,” Catra shifted a little, placing her hands atop Adora’s, cementing them where they rested. “Sometimes I like to switch things up. Can’t let the enemies be  _ too  _ confident in what they think they know about me,” she said, voice thick with sarcasm.

It had been a long day, with saving the world and all, and Glimmer, using what status she had left now that her father had returned, insisted on all parties being postponed to at least the next day. The group, along with practically everyone else in Etheria, was exhausted, and decided to not put up too much of an objection to the proposal of waiting a while longer to throw any celebrations. So, the Best Friend Squad retreated to Glimmer’s bedroom as the sun began to set, Glimmer hastily snatching some drinks from the castle’s kitchen as she passed through.

_ Do you want some? _ Glimmer had asked Catra, holding out a glass, a bottle in her other hand. Catra suppressed a hiss. She had never understood the “getting drunk” thing. She’d been taken advantage of–taken  _ control  _ of–her entire life, and the thought of losing control that  _ willingly _ turned Catra’s stomach inside out. She shook her head, dipping her gaze to the ground. Glimmer had only shrugged, and moved to pour her own.

“Okay then,” Glimmer rubbed her hands together, her smirk becoming more of a grin. “Give us an embarrassing young Adora story.” Bow laughed beside her, making a snarky remark about how they already had enough embarrassing Adora stories to last a lifetime.

“Noooo, Glimmerrrr…” Adora groaned, pressing her reddened face into Catra’s shoulder, tugging tighter on the waist between her arms. Catra lifted her hand to pat the blonde’s head as she huffed out a laugh.

“Just one? Hmmm…” Catra wracked her brain, and was immediately greeted with memories of Adora making a complete idiot of herself, from the moment they met, to their last day in the Horde together, to their more recent days of rediscovering one another.

“Aren’t truths supposed to expose the person who’s asked, not their  _ girlfriend _ ?” Adora pointed out, voice muffled by her face still being pressed into Catra’s shoulder. 

Catra’s stomach flipped for a moment. Her  _ girlfriend _ . She hadn’t really thought of it that way yet. Honestly, she hadn’t had much time to think of it at all, with how quickly the day had flown by. One moment she and Adora were at the Heart of Etheria, the next they were in this room with the rest of their friends. It was nice, she admitted to herself. She liked being called Adora’s girlfriend, and liked it even more when Adora herself said it. But there was something… doubt? She tucked the thought away for later.

“Hey,” Bow shook his head. “There’s no rule that says that!”

“Oh!” Catra called out at the sudden recollection of a memory. “I’ve got it! Adora, do you remember The Prank Incident?” she was met with another one of Adora’s groans, insinuating that she did, in fact, remember. Catra could feel her grin growing wider by the second.

“Oh boy are you two in for a good story!” Catra looked back to Glimmer and Bow, who were waiting with growing smiles on their faces, urging her to continue the tale.

“We were about 13–maybe 14–at the time, and one of our favorite things to do was play tricks on Kyle. So a few nights before our next training day, Adora and I stayed up late to figure out what prank we were gonna pull on him next. The night after that, we let Lonnie and Rogelio in on our plans so they could help us set it up that next day before training. You see, Kyle always had a very… straightforward approach to training. Basically, he’d just barge right into the simulation while the rest of us actually paid attention to what we were doing and where we were stepping. 

“So, our plan was to set up a tripwire prank, knowing he wouldn’t think twice before running out into the simulation. We each had jobs–Adora set up the tripwire, Lonnie set up the mattress that would spring out, I, being the only one who could really climb, hung up the bucket of ration goo they used to make into ration bars that would pour onto Kyle’s head, and Rogelio kept watch to make sure no one was coming. 

“So we were setting it up, right? Each doing our own thing. And as soon as we had all finished, I started climbing down from where I had been hanging the bucket up. But as soon as I got down, I looked over to Adora to see she was WALKING TOWARDS ME and in the process WALKING RIGHT ON THE TRIPWIRE. Me and Lonnie were all like ‘ADORA NO!’ but at that point she’d already stepped on the wire, and the mattress had swung out. The dumb-dumb got hit SQUARE IN THE FACE with the thing, then as she was stumbling back, got goo poured ALL OVER HER. I swear she smelled like ration bars for WEEKS after that. At least we knew our prank worked.”

Catra was saying all of this through her laughter, though her breath was shaky. She realized that this was the most she had said aloud at once in… a long time. She also realized that this was the lightest she felt in maybe forever. It frightened Catra, to allow herself to feel this at ease, to be so reckless in choosing her words, even if she knew she was safe here. 

With a start, Catra noticed that the rest of the room had erupted into fits of giggles, and eventually became full-on breathless laughter. Even Adora started laughing, her chest heaving against Catra’s back. The pressure grounded her.

“You distracted me!” Adora argued, breath hot against Catra’s neck.

Catra’s laughter was put to an abrupt end, while the others’ in the room only grew louder. A thousand questions began to echo in her head. But, “Wait, huh?” was all she could get out.

Adora finally lifted her head from where it had been buried in Catra’s shoulder, and rested her chin against the spot, eyes now on Catra’s face. “You know…” she trailed off, a pointed look on her face.

_ Oh _ . Catra thought, which was immediately followed by:  _ wait she liked me back then, too? _ Catra’s eyes grew wide, and she was met by Adora’s smirk. “Wait, really?”

“Oh my god,” Glimmer clutched her chest, gasping for air between her laughter. “You both really  _ are _ idiots.” She and Bow erupted into even more laughter, as Catra pressed her now red face into her palms. Adora hugged her closer and placed a kiss against her neck, which only caused Catra to redden even more, yet she leaned into her touch.

Once the laughter began to subside, Catra looked back up from her hands. “Okay,” she sighed. “I think it’s my turn now?” A smile crept onto her face after another drawn out breath. “Bow. Truth or dare?”

Bow looked anxious, but didn’t hesitate before saying, “Dare.” Catra arched an eyebrow towards him, but didn’t question the out of character response.

“Oh, perfect,” Catra grinned and wagged her finger towards Glimmer. “I dare you to give your little girlfriend, Sparkles over there a smooch.”

Bow’s face reddened immediately, almost spitting out the sip of his drink that he had just taken.

“Aww what’s wrong Bow?” Adora teased. “Nervous?”

“N-no. It’s just that–”

“Hey,” Glimmer began, trying hard to cover up the fact that her own face had turned a bright shade of red. “If Bow doesn’t want to then–”

She was cut off by Bow turning her face and placing a quick kiss against her lips. Catra and Adora burst into cheers, laughing at the look on Glimmer’s face as she practically melted into a puddle of blushes in Bow’s arms.

The night went on, bright and filled with laughter and embarrassment. The group’s game of truth or dare eventually died out and became a more relaxed conversation until the four of them all began to sport large yawns across their faces.

Glimmer was the first to fall asleep, tucked comfortably between Bow’s body and his arm which was still wrapped carefully around her.

“I think she had too much to drink,” Bow murmured, not moments before his own head fell limp and propped itself up against Glimmer’s, leaving the others to chuckle fondly at their sleeping friends.

Catra had gradually moved herself from sitting between Adora’s legs to leaning against her side, arm wrapped around her waist. Now that it was just the two of them awake, Catra shifted herself so that she sat in front of Adora, their legs overlapped between them.

As she moved, Adora watched, chin propped in her hand and a small smile plastered on her face. The smile that had always been reserved just for Catra; the smile that seemed to light up any room no matter how dark, that brought warmth to even the coldest of nights. The smile that Catra had fallen in love with time and time again. That same feeling that had fluttered beneath Catra’s ribs for so many years so long ago that, then, she’d have brushed off her shoulder, ignored and kept deep inside herself, came rushing back at full speed. Who knew one look could warrant such a reaction?

“You’re beautiful,” Adora said in a daze. “Have I ever told you that?"

“And you’re drunk,” Catra retorted, ignoring the ever increasing beat of her heart.

Adora scoffed. “Am not! I barely even drank half a glass!” She reached for her glass and sloshed the liquid around a little, showing that it was in fact, still half full.

There was a brief silence and then, “Not really. At least not directly.”

“Huh?” Adora seemed to be pulled from a trance, her eyes only half focused.

“You asked me if you’ve ever told me before. You haven’t. Not exactly.” Catra remembered. She remembered every interaction with Adora that had made her heart beat a little faster than normal, made her duck her head to hide the blush that crept to her face. She remembered the late nights with Adora, whispering words only meant for each other, and sometimes words slipped that weren’t meant to be said at all. Those words were ignored, brushed off by the other in fear of treading too deeply into dangerous waters. Catra remembered every brush of Adora’s hand against her’s, no matter how short the moment had lasted. But never did Adora say outright how much she cared about Catra. 

She realized there were tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. It was stupid. It shouldn’t bother her this much. Not now at least. Catra blinked once, then twice, until the tears retreated.

“Catra,” Adora’s brows furrowed, shadowing her face. She took Catra’s hands in her own calloused ones. The gentleness of the gesture surprised Catra. She knew the wrath of those hands, the strength behind them when fighting enemies, when fighting  _ her _ . But she knew the familiarity of them as well. She remembered the softness that can be given from them. “Catra, you know I–”

“No, no,” Catra began. She knew. Because sure, Adora never spoke of the care she held in her heart for Catra, but Catra hadn’t either. Not before… “No. I know. I’m sorry.” She shrugged, trying to act like it was nothing, though her eyes were trained on where Adora’s hands met her’s. It wasn’t the fact that Adora hadn’t voiced her care for Catra before that bothered her. No, Catra understood why she hadn’t, why she  _ couldn’t _ . But there was  _ something _ . Something that still pulled against Catra’s heart. Something she couldn’t quite place.

“No,  _ I’m _ sorry, Catra. I’m sorry I couldn’t say these things before. I wish things were different, I always have.” She shook her head, deciding not to go there right then. “But, Catra, you know I love you right? I didn’t just  _ say _ that at the heart. I meant it; with every fiber of my being  _ I love you _ , and I have for my whole life.” Adora squeezed Catra’s hands, so lightly that it could’ve been played off as the twitch of a muscle.

And there it was. That prick that had been playing at her heart now shifted its place to behind Catra’s eyes, closing off her throat on its journey up.

Finally, Catra peeled her eyes from where her hands met Adora’s, and instead met her gaze. Those earnest, pale eyes that met hers were ridden with concern and… something else that made Catra’s whole body ache. Could it be love? Could it be that Adora was telling her the truth, that she really  _ had _ loved her this whole time?

Catra’s voice was weak and when she said, “you promise?”, it was barely a whisper, barely audible if the girl across from her hadn’t been sitting merely inches away.

Adora scooted impossibly closer, both girls’ knees pulled up against them, making it so that they could sit this close without having to disentangle their legs. Adora guided one of Catra’s hands upwards, and placed a slow kiss against her palm, eyes fluttering shut for a moment as she did so. Catra let the hand rest against her cheek.

“I promise,” Adora whispered in reply. “A million times over,  _ I promise _ . There hasn’t been a moment in my life that I have not loved you, and there never will be.” 

Catra sniffled. It was sweet, and she knew Adora was telling the truth; her words rattled her bones and stuck against her as if caught in her fur, but there was still  _ something _ that pulled in the pit of her stomach, making her feel incomplete. She didn’t want to ruin the sweetness of the moment, but, fuck it, she  _ wanted _ to be honest with Adora. A lifetime of carefully skirting around an unknowable feeling and now she was finally  _ allowed _ this honesty. Maybe she wouldn’t allow herself this vulnerability if Adora hadn’t opened the conversation, maybe on a later day she’d have trouble finding the right words, but right now, Catra built her confidence.   


She took a shaky breath. “Thank you Adora. Really. It’s just… I really– I don’t feel like I  _ deserve  _ this? Like I just… I did so much  _ wrong _ and I feel like… like I should be  _ punished _ for it? This feels like a  _ reward _ that I shouldn’t be given. I shouldn’t be allowed happiness after everything. God, it’s just–” Catra, who had shut her eyes in the middle of her speech, was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace, letting out a yelp at the unexpected contact.

“Trust me, Catra. I get it. I don’t… I don’t feel like I deserve this either. I shouldn’t be  _ allowed _ to want things– to want this. But, Catra, you deserve this. We–”, her voice faltered. “ _ We  _ deserve this.” Adora squeezed Catra’s shoulders just a little tighter, and Catra wondered if Adora was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince her.

Something clicked in Catra. Despite their differences, the fights they had, the issues that both of them had caused, they were in this together. Because they had each other, and no one– not even their own internal issues– was going to take that from them.

Adora pulled back from the hug first, resting her hands on Catra’s shoulders for a brief moment before dropping them back down to entwine themselves with Catra’s again. Once Catra could see Adora’s face, she noticed that that familiar dopey grin was written all over her again. Her eyes were soft, squinting at the sides, and her cheeks were painted with a faint blush. Just the sight of her made Catra’s heart skip a beat and she could feel a small smile creeping its way onto her own face.

Despite the warmth, and even weightlessness she had begun to feel, there was still something pricking at her, maybe not as insistent as before, but there nonetheless.

Catra cleared her throat. “Hey, Adora?” Once Adora hummed in reply, Catra took one of her hands in both of her’s, flipped it so that her palm was facing upwards, and began to trace along each line, each finger with her own, grazing the skin ever so lightly. It was as much of a nervous tick as it was just an excuse to touch Adora. She watched the muscles in Adora’s hand twitch where she touched her.

“Earlier… earlier you said um–” Catra’s voice shook, and she cleared it again. “You called me… your girlfriend?” Her eyes were glued to their hands, Catra’s still tracing along Adora’s for the third time over. She didn’t dare look up. “Sorry, this is dumb. But um… did you– did you  _ mean _ that?”

Adora’s hand closed around Catra’s, and she finally looked up at her. “Catra,  _ of course  _ I meant it.” She said it earnestly, as she always did, staring deeply into Catra as if she could see right into her. But not a moment later, a flicker of doubt crossed her face. “Unless you didn’t want that! Then that’s totally okay, I just–”

“NO!” Catra winced at the volume of her voice, and the desperation hidden beneath it. “Sorry, no. I do. I want it.  _ Really _ badly.” That earned her a grin, a wide one at that, and this time, Catra didn’t wince at the desperation in her voice. Instead, she smiled back, and shifted herself so that she leaned ever closer to Adora, propping herself up on her knees.

Adora hummed. “Then it's settled.” And all of a sudden, Catra couldn’t think anymore. Because Adora was placing her hand along her jawline and pulling her in to close the distance between them, smiling all the while. “Can I kiss you?” It was barely a whisper, barely a breath. But Catra could see the question, the hesitation in Adora’s bright eyes. Her heart had never in her life felt more full. 

“Of course, dummy.” And then, they were kissing, and Catra was kissing Adora, and Catra was kissing her  _ girlfriend _ , and Catra was kissing  _ her girlfriend, Adora _ .

And it was like the first time all over again, an eruption of emotions within her, warmth seeping through her entire body beginning at her heart. Though unlike before, this kiss was softer, sweeter, not as ridden with a mixture of fear and relief, but making Catra shiver nonetheless. Their lips moved slowly, in sync, familiar with each other as though they’d been doing this their whole lives.

When the two finally pulled apart, their breath lingered in the air between them, hot and sweet, their foreheads pressed together. With Adora’s arms wrapped around her neck and lips mere breaths away from her’s, Catra didn’t think she could ever grow tired of this feeling.

“Wow,” Adora muttered, breathless.

Catra snorted, though it was soft around the edges. “Are you gonna say that every time we kiss, you dork?”

“Probably,” Adora tried at a smirk that quickly turned itself back into that lovestruck grin Catra found her so often wearing.

Catra hummed and placed a kiss on the tip of Adora’s nose, earning a giggle from her girlfriend.

If not for the loud snore that escaped Bow’s sleeping figure, reminding the two that they weren’t alone, Catra and Adora would have stayed there all night, basking in the light of one another.

But as soon as that sound brought them back to reality, Catra yelped and leapt away from Adora, the beginnings of panic bubbling in her chest.

Adora laughed, and it thankfully subsided. But… that panic will probably be something she’ll have to unpack. But later. Because right now, Adora was laughing, and nothing else in the whole world mattered. They might have a ways to go and have a lot to learn, but that’d have to be a problem for future Catra and Adora.

Adora pushed herself off the ground, then reached her hand down towards Catra the moment she was standing. “Come  _ on _ , you goofball, I’m  _ exhausted _ . Let’s go to bed.”

And when Catra took her hand, the hand that felt like tenderness and warmth and  _ home _ , when she was pulled up and tucked into Adora’s side, guided to her room and falling asleep as soon as she hit the bed, Catra swore that she would never, ever let go of her again, for the rest of her life and all eternity.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed!! maybe one day i'll include a link to my twitter, but today is not that day. for now, anonymity is my best friend. if you've paid VERY close attention to my twitter, you MIGHT be able to figure out who i am, but i'm just gonna assume (hope?) that no one who reads this has done so lol. again, i hope to have more works out soon!


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